Oggi era buona ma non esattamente come mi ero aspettato. Ho pensato che molte persone sorde venissero al cena stasera ma non c’era nessuno. Beh. Il mio gruppo ci parliamo e organizziamo per un evento alla due settimane prossime. Dopo cena ho scritto il mio testimonio per post via facebook. Non ho ancora finito ma forse ricorderò domani.

I’ve had a blast these last few days. I’ll get pics up soon, but I dyed my hair purple last night. Not all of it, just a few streaks. I was bored and people were talking about hair dye :). I really like my job. It’s pretty fun and I can have mini-conversations with my co-workers while I’m stocking or tagging items. It’s hard work and pretty tiring, but I actually enjoy it more than I have anything else I’ve ever done.

I went out on the boardwalk the other day to share my faith. I prayed before I went out that God would give me one good conversation cuz I wasn’t feeling very well. The first people Emily and I talked to agreed to talk and we had about a 45 minute conversation about spiritual things and life. It was amazing. The man I talked to was definitely a Christian, but it was still so cool to be able to talk about God to a complete stranger. It was really encouraging since the other few times going out were kind of bummers and awkward. I have definitely learned a lot about practical ways to share my faith.

That’s my blurb for now. Vi voglio bene!

 

Updates

I now officially have a job at SuperFresh! It’s a grocery store and I stock shelves and put up sales tags. I enjoy it, but it’s certainly hard work. I’ll get used to it though :D. It’s different working at a store because you can basically do whatever needs to be done at that moment. A lot of times it’s customer service, but if you and a coworker are working in the same area, you can certainly have conversations as well. I’ve learned a lot throughout the 20 days (already?!) I’ve been here.

Saturday we went to a free zoo with some members of the Deaf community as part of our outreach. It was so much fun having conversations and teaching signs and seeing the animals. Afterwards we went to dinner and we had a great conversation with our new friends. I had so much fun being there it was like being at RIT again! Hopefully we’ll see them soon at the bbq we’re hosting this Saturday.

My introversion is getting better and I have a greater capacity for being around people, praise God. Tonight we’re going minigolfing and then out for ice cream! Wahoo! I’m pretty excited to just bond with project kids, cuz there are some that I haven’t been with much. It’s good though that I don’t work with the people I live with and my church group is completely different too. It gives me a good chance to get to know so many people! And of course I’m getting to know my coworkers and the students coming to the international café. In speaking of which, one of the international students we met recently became a Christian! Pray that he will grow a lot while we’re here and when he goes back to China he can be a light to his own people! How exciting is that?! Well, I’m excited anyways! Pray that I’ll use the opportunities I have at work and on the boardwalk to talk to people and pray that God will use that to work on their hearts.

A night of Reflection

Copied from my journal on 6-6-12

We’re at Sunset beach watching the sunset… or rather the sunset approaching. I like to think I can do things on my own. But I haven’t found a job yet. I clearly won’t find one without God’s help, but I’m getting so discouraged I won’t find one at all.

The ocean smells like salt, permeating the air. The tide rolls in, deposits what it can onto the beach and retreats to move along the shore. Sweep in, sweep out. Roll in, roll out. On and on it won’t ever end. Not as long as the earth is spinning and the moon tags along.

There’s sky and sea, kissing at the horizon. Birds flying wherever they please and half a ship sticking out of the sea. A relic from an unfortunate accident long ago. A reminder that we’re not as big as we think. The tide doesn’t need me to be here in order to flow. I’m not even half a ship run aground on a beach.

Water splashes against the rocks. Immoveable firm rocks. Not yielding.

Lord, You are creator, sustainer, Redeemer. You are the head of the Universe. The Ocean doesn’t care for me, the rocks won’t move for me. The birds even may poop on me. But Father You are the puppeteer of them all.

Help me not to focus on me so much. Father help me to focus on you. On who you are. What does it matter what I can do? I am the ant I just flicked off my leg. In my pride and arrogance I think I’ve climbed a mountain on my own. All I’ve done is climbed a leg. 6 inches off the ground. And the significance is squelched the moment I stand to admire what I’ve done.

How come I can find this when even I search a little, but when I’m going, doing, speaking and interacting I find myself to be the sole of importance. Lord help me to rid myself of me. Help me to die to myself so that I can focus on you.

Just as a side note this is a little old, and I pretty much have a job…I’ll explain that more when I for real have a job and paper work and stuff. But God did answer my prayer when I began the process of not focusing on myself…which is really hard, but I’m a work in progress.

The Search

Hi everyone! I’ve been at Summer Project for 5 days, but so many things have happened it feels like a lifetime! We have had a few hours each day to look for jobs, and I even interpreted a job interview! That was cool, because I realized I actually can successfully interpret and I wasn’t even nervous! I still don’t officially have a job, but I’m applying in good faith and praying that God would provide the job for me that He would have me do.

The busy season hasn’t started yet because here on the East Coast, kids are still in school. I’ve filled out so many applications that I have phone numbers and addresses for my previous places of employment memorized. I’m getting really good at asking for jobs and filling out applications 😛

We’ve had a great time as a community too! I live on a floor with 12 girls and one kitchen and one bathroom. It’s been a challenge and I’m sure it will grow to be a greater challenge, but everyone has been really gracious so far. It’s been great to always have people to hang out with. I’ve had a few introverted moments, but God definitely helped me get through them without being too outwardly crabby :D.

I don’t even know how to describe the boardwalk. It’s a fantastic tourist trap and I love seeing all of the people and the oceans and fair food! I bought fried reese’s yesterday, which was a bad decision. It was delicious and now that I know that, I may end up buying more over the next 10 weeks :P. I also found a taffy and fudge shop with gelato… Forse sarò ritornare ogni giorni perché mi piace il gelato molto!!!

We played capture the flag on the beach one day at the beach until the tide rolled through. We were at least 100 feet from the ocean, but when it rains, and the tide raises, the water goes extremely far. It was insane! I’ll try to remember to actually take pictures for you guys so you can understand what I’m talking about. That’s about all I can say for now. It’s been absolutely insane, but I think now that we have time for everyone to work, it’ll settle down…at least until I get a job.

Please continue to pray that the rest of us will get jobs in the next few days.